Release notes 8.6
XTRF 8.6 brings the following new features:
- Timestamps for Quote, Project Confirmation, PO and Invoice documents - you can now check when Quote Confirmation, Project Confirmation, Purchase Order and Invoice documents were last sent to your Clients and Vendors. The information is available:
- in the right-hand-side panels in Smart Projects and Quotes,
- in the Documents tab in Classic Projects and Quotes, and
- in the Main Data tab of Invoices.
It is also available in browse views for Projects, Quotes, Tasks, Jobs, and Invoices, where you can add columns and filters concerning the respective documents’ last sent date and status (see example below).
- Adding currency exchange rates via API - we added a new method to the Home Portal API that allows you to add currency exchange rates to the system. It can be used as an alternative to the existing mechanisms for exchange rate synchronization and opens up possibilities to import the exchange rates from your preferred source. All you need to do is disable the built-in Periodic Job Currency exchange rates synchronization and switch to the API import. For details about the new method, see Home Portal API documentation.
- First and Last Project/Quote Dates for Client Contacts - we expanded the properties of Client Contacts to show dates of the first and last Project or Quote that they have requested. The information is provided in the Contact’s Main Data tab and is automatically updated by the system.
It is also available in views, so you can filter by Contacts who haven’t requested a Project or Quote for a long time. Not only does it comply with GDPR requirements but it also may come in handy as a tool for salespeople or account managers. The information is also accessible via API.
Note: Alongside this development, the corresponding fields for Clients were renamed to Client First Project Date, Client Last Project Date, etc.
- Notify Vendors about an approaching Job deadline in Smart Projects - we extended the functionality known from Classic Projects and you can now also automatically notify your vendors about an approaching Job deadline in Smart Projects. The feature can be enabled and configured in System Configuration > Projects and Quotes > Settings, in the Notifications and Alerts tab. The notification uses the “E-mail/Text Message to Vendor: When job's deadline is nearing” template. We also corrected the behavior of this mechanism, and the notifications are now sent only for Jobs with a status of Started (in both Classic and Smart Projects).
- Contact agency feature in Vendor Portal - we used to receive a lot of feedback from Vendor Portal users which were actually messages to LSPs, not to XTRF. Therefore we’ve added the possibility for Vendors to send you an email directly from the Vendor Portal.
The message is sent to the Head Recruiter indicated in the Vendor Portal’s configuration or, if not specified, to the system administrator.
The email of the sender is recorded as a reply-to email, so you can easily continue the communication outside XTRF.
Improvements to existing functionalities include:
- Support for memoQ 9.2 in integration with Smart and Classic Projects
- Vendors are no longer allowed to add an invoice with a number they have used in the past. This also applies to Home Portal users. It is still possible to add a vendor invoice without any number.
- New "Decide on Quote" page - we visually refreshed the page a client user is redirected to when they click the email links to approve or reject a Quote. Instead of separate pages for confirming the approval or rejection, a single “decide on quote” page has been introduced.
- The possibility to retrieve and update instructions for Classic Projects via API has been extended to Classic Quotes too.
- Fraudulent-sensitive events like changing bank account numbers, user rights or vendor ID are now logged. The same applies to creating Quotes and Projects on behalf of Clients using the Sign in as this partner button.
See also detailed change log:
https://xtrf.userecho.com/communities/4/topics/1824-86-change-log
The following previously planned features will be delivered at a later date
- Syncing of the Job status in non-linear workflows in memoQ integration (in Smart Projects) - postponed to a later version.
Known issues:
- memoQ Filter configuration overridden by project template in memoQ 9.2 - our integration allows you to apply a memoQ filter upon file upload. However, memoQ 9.2 prioritizes memoQ project template settings over XTRF project configuration, which is the opposite of what happened with memoQ 8.x versions. We are working closely with our partners at memoQ to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
Things to verify after the upgrade:
- (concerns Memsource, XTM and memoQ classic integration users) - alongside one of the bug fixes introduced in v8.6 (DEV-9977), we removed a hardcoded output file policy valid for the integrated Workflows. As a consequence, the Output File Policy settings applied in Workflow Jobs are no longer ignored & overwritten by the system (in other words, from v8.6, these settings will matter). Therefore, all users of the above integrations should take a closer look at how files are shared with vendors in the integrated workflows and, where needed, adjust the Output File Policy settings in Workflow Jobs in all integrated Workflow Definitions.
- (concerns XTM integration users) - as a side effect of one of the bug fixes introduced in v8.6 (DEV-10331), Add CAT Payables settings in XTM-integrated Workflows may be reset after the upgrade. Please make sure to check and, if needed, correct all your XTM Workflow Definitions in that respect.
- (concerns all users) Following the introduction of the new “decide on quote” page mentioned above, you may want to adjust the wording in your notification template(s) for when a quote is sent to a client for approval to better reflect the actions your clients need to take. For this purpose, you can use a newly introduced code snippet ${quoteWithConfirmation.confirmQuote.decide}. Note, however, that even if you don’t make any changes, the old approval/rejection links will still work - they will just both redirect to the new page.
Debian installation:
Starting from XTRF 8.6, the Debian packages have been merged into one - xtrf8-full. The old packages, xtrf8 and jboss-xtrf7x, will no longer be updated. In order to update XTRF to 8.6, follow the instructions at https://knowledgebase.xtrf.eu/display/XTRFHelp/XTRF+8+Update+guide
Integration with CAT tools and third-party systems:
XTRF Platform’s compatibility with third-party systems is described in the following article:
https://xtrf.userecho.com/knowledge-bases/6/articles/888-integrations-with-other-systems
Supported Internet Browsers:
See: https://xtrf.userecho.com/knowledge-bases/6/articles/253-what-browsers-do-you-recommend
Localization:
Version 8.6 will no longer support basic localization for Slovenian.
Customer support service by UserEcho
Concerning DEV-10331, what's the implication of that change? It's unclear how this will affect our existing workflows and upcoming planned workflows in testing.
Oops, I meant DEV-9977!
First of all, the Output Files Policy settings need to be reviewed only for jobs mapped with CAT tool steps. Up until version 8.5, XTRF adjusted the Output Files Policy automatically based on the job mapping. However, this led to integration errors when a workflow included also package/file download and upload steps. From version 8.6 on, the Output Files Policy has to be set manually. Here's our recommendation:
Hope this helps.
What's the release date?
Version 8.6 will be available starting from early next week. The SaaS instances will be gradually upgraded in the following days.
Holy smokes, yep this helps a lot, thanks SO MUCH for explaining it in detail!
Best,
Will
XTRF in version 8.6.4 has been released and we have started the process of scheduling upgrades on our SaaS infrastructure. The installation package for on-premise installations is also available in our repository. Detailed change log will be published by the end of today.